


Mugs and Kisses

by indimitable



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Lily Evans (mentioned (barely)), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 19:32:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17966669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indimitable/pseuds/indimitable
Summary: Sirius and Remus are introduced in a chance encounter in a cafe, and sparks fly. Occasional side comments by James.





	Mugs and Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> I can't remember who introduced me to the "Remus has terrible handwriting" trope, but now it's in everything I write.   
> This is the first creative thing I've made in nearly half a year, so apologies if it's awful! Hopefully this is me getting back into the swing of things, though.

James shouldered his way into the coffeeshop, Sirius following behind him as he continued gesticulating wildly with his hands in an attempt to convince his best friend that there were better ways to woo one's soulmate than messing with your hair ("especially when your hair isn't even all that, mate, I mean look at mine, you've got no chance really... ouch!") and tossing a football around ("you've at least gotta catch it, if you drop it every time she glances over then you're not impressing anyone").

James, not quite having enough caffeine in him to deal with Sirius Black this early in the morning, dumped him into a chair in the corner and went off to order the both of them some coffee. He wasn't entirely convinced Sirius had realized he was gone, as he continued blathering into the air about how James just needed a better conditioner, but at least the counter was far enough away that he could attempt to tune out Sirius and focus on finally getting some damn coffee. 

Unfortunately for James, the closest thing to a barista at the counter was a small stuffed wolf, accompanied by a post-it that read "squeeze me for service!" He glanced around the empty cafe, then sighed and obeyed the note. A very loud squeak rang out through the shop, and the door to the backroom swung open just as Sirius' nonsensical arguing stopped, apparently finally having realized he was talking to the air. He joined James at the counter, opening his mouth to start talking _again_ , just as a barista set a tub of dishes on the counter, shoving light brown curls off of his forehead and grinning at the pair. 

"What can I get you?" He asked in a slightly accented voice, long fingers sliding a laminated menu across the counter towards them, and James swore he could hear Sirius swallow behind him.

"Large black coffee, lots of sugar for me," James answered, moving aside so he could study the pastry case and send Sirius a smug look. Who was unable to cope with a pretty face now? "And one of these croissants, too, if you can warm it up. What do you want, mate?"

Sirius shrugged, tapping his fingers on the menu as he read it (although James was pretty sure he wasn't taking in anything it said, considering how often his eyes crept back up to the barista's face). "How sweet is the s'mores mocha? And can I get it decaf? Supposed to be cutting back on caffeine, according to this one."

"I'm pretty sure that would just be a hot chocolate with extra syrup," the barista replied-- James was trying to read his nametag, but the handwriting was truly awful and he had no idea what it said. He was pretty sure the last bit was just a smiley face? "That would be super sweet, and a little gross if you ask me, but since sugar is far better than you than caffeine, it should work fine."

"Oh, yeah, it is," Sirius grinned, bouncing on his toes and staring a little too long at the barista's (Renner?) forearms. He's rather obviously not paying attention, and James is pretty sure that the barista could have told him that he should pour cockroaches into his drink and Sirius would have accepted it from him. "That's perfect! I'll take one size bigger than his." He pulls out his wallet, and James has to stifle a snicker at the look of confusion on the barista's face.

"No, it's-- I was joking, sugar is way worse for you than caffeine," the barista replies, and James is now pretty sure that his nametag reads "Ricvin," but that can't be right. "I can make it for you, but you seem like you're already coming off of a sugar high, and if you're trying to avoid hyper then I don't think this is quite the drink for you."

"No sugar in him yet, if you can believe it," James cuts in, rolling his eyes at Sirius' far too obvious insta-crush (really, he thinks James is hopeless?). "He's actually just always like this. Why don't you just get a hot chocolate, Sirius? Sweet, but you might not actually die of sucrose overload."

Sirius shrugs, passing his card across to the barista who is maybe named "Revis", and James drops a couple ones into the tip jar. "Sure, sounds good," he says while eyeing a smudge of what could be chocolate on the barista's face. "You've got a little something, here," and he taps his own cheek where it is.

"Sorry, I was making muffins in the back, there's normally no one here at this time," he reaches up to wipe it away, smearing it all over his cheek. "So it's under, did you say Sirius? That's quite a name." He smiles at Sirius, his cheeks reddening a little as he realizes Sirius is still staring at him. "Did I not get it?"

"No, it's-- here," Sirius reaches across the counter quickly to wipe it away, pulling his arm back before either of them seems to realize what happened. Their cheeks are matching shades of red, though, and James wonders for a brief second if he could get away with snapping a quick picture for blackmail purposes later (or best man purposes far later, who knows). "Yeah, you can blame my parents for that name, they thought they were so posh for it too. This is James, his parents were normal, thank goodness. And you're, uh..." he glances away from staring into the other man's eyes to the rather unintelligible nametag. "Sorry, what does that say?"

"Remus," the barista responds, chuckling a little at Sirius' ramble. "My parents weren't normal either, I guess." He blinks at Sirius for a minute, and then the door opens with a squeak behind them and Sirius jumps. "Sorry, I keep meaning to fix that thing," Remus winces, turning his attention back to the register. "Your total's five pounds, if you want to go ahead and scan now, and I can bring it over to you when it's ready." 

They pay and move over to the chair James had initially abandoned Sirius in, the latter now with a deathgrip on the taller boy's arm, and James yanks his arm away with a hiss when they're out of earshot. "I think that's going to bruise," he grumbles, swatting Sirius' hands away. Sirius sinks into the chair opposite him, his cheeks still flushed and his eyes wide, and James sneaks his phone up for a quick picture. Sirius scowls at him, reaching over to try and take it away, and James fumbles off a quick caption and sends it to Pete before Sirius yanks it away from him.

"Speechless and flustered, really James? At least tell him how I was also suave and flirty," Sirius scoffs, tapping out something else to send, and James dives across the space between them to get his phone back. They fall into a brief wrestling match in Sirius' chair, and then Remus coughs lightly above them and James uses the brief moment of distraction to jab Sirius in the side and retreat back to his own chair with his phone. 

"I've got your coffee, and your non-coffee," Remus says, looking like he's trying not to laugh at them. "Can I set it on this table, or were you planning on more horseplay first?"

"I've just got to kill him real fast, and then you can," Sirius snarks back, grinning up at Remus and leaning his chair back very much not casually. James reaches out to steady the chair before it tips over, but Sirius, apparently not seeing the kind gesture for what it is, bats his hands away and ends up crashing onto his back on the floor. James snickers and leans back in his own chair (carefully, because he learns from others' mistakes, thank you very much), while Remus nearly drops the coffees on the side table in his hurry to help Sirius up. 

"Are you okay?" Remus asks, pulling Sirius to his feet and setting the chair upright carefully. "Did you hit your head or anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Sirius reassures him, although James notices that he isn't quite so keen to brush off the help as he normally is. He almost seems to be leaning on Remus a little, the big drama queen, and James can't wait to tell Pete about all of this. "Nothing a little hot chocolate can't fix, right?"

"I hope so, since that's all I've got for you," Remus steers Sirius into the chair before letting go of him, his fingers fidgeting anxiously at his sides as he pulls away. He bites his lip, Sirius' eyes following the motion, and James suddenly feels like he should find something to look at on his phone instead of third-wheeling this. "If you end up needing something stronger, there's a bar around the corner I could introduce you to tonight."

"I've heard alcohol does great things to fix possible concussions," Sirius replies, taking a sip that does nothing to hide his delighted grin at the idea. "Since I'm fairly sure I don't have one, that sounds great."

"Great," Remus smiles down at him, pulling a pen and notepad from his apron pockets and scrawling something down before passing it to Sirius. "I'll see you tonight, then, I've got to go check on the oven real fast." He disappears into the back room, and Sirius claps his hands together loudly.

"That, James Potter, is how you get a date," he proclaims loudly, and James rolls his eyes at his best friend, stealing a sip of his hot chocolate. "He must really like me, he used his nice handwriting for his number... no, wait, I'm looking at this upside down. I can't read it."


End file.
